Rainforest

Rainforests are home to more than 66% of all the living plant and animal species on Earth. It is estimated that hundreds of millions of species of plants and animals living in rain forests are not yet recorded by science.

In Peru,  the Manu wilderness area is located  northeast of Cusco on the Madre de Dios River. This national park is higher in plant, bird and mammal diversity than any other national park in the world. It has more than 800 species of birds and over 200 species of mammals. It has many varieties of insects, amphibians and reptiles yet to be classified.

South of the jungle city of Iquitos are located some of the most amazing rainforest areas in South America, one of which is the Allpahuayo- Mishana Reserve with the greatest number of species of tree per hectare of any other wilderness area in South America, and 140 species of reptiles. Some endangered animal species found here are the otter, the harpy eagle, and the giant armadillo.

Even further south of Iquitos lies the amazing Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve with more than two million hectares of lakes, lagoons, swamps and wetlands. Here one finds the manatee, the pink river dolphin, the little river turtle, the anaconda and an amazing diversity of bird species.

Peru´s rainforests are in trouble, with more than 740,000 acres of rainforest disappearing annually, due to deforestation caused by agricultural expansion, cattle ranching, logging, oil spills and petroleum extraction, mining, and colonization. The population of indigenous rainforest tribes has been greatly depleted, and languages and cultures are being lost due to loss of the way of life that supported them. Also, plant medicines and the knowledge of how to use them are disappearing along with these tribal cultures. 

Brazil is the largest country in South America, and its rainforests support nearly 40 per cent of all species that remain on the planet. Brazil has more than 770,000 miles of forest. This is one of the largest areas of wilderness of any country  in the world.

One of the most fascinating rainforest regions in the Brazilian Amazon is the Meeting of the Waters, located six miles outside of the Brazilian jungle city of Manaus. This is the renowned confluence of the Rio Negro and the Rio Solimoes. Differences in speed and temperature of the water keep these two bodies of water visibly separate although they are flowing in one stream. There is a great variety of fish and wildlife at this merging of rivers; sloths, piranhas, anacondas and parrots are a few of the species found in the area.

Brazil, too,  is losing more than 35,000 square kilometers of forest per year for the same reasons as in Peru. For more information about rainforests, and organizations that are working to protect them, you can visit the following link:  http://www.rainforestweb.org/Rainforest_Protection/Environmental_Organizations/